The Arab security guard; Photo credit: Social media
Monday, September 23, 2024, 8:29 One week ago, an Israeli citizen filed a complaint with the police demanding that they arrest an Arab working as a security guard at Cinema City in Jerusalem. The security guard had posted on social media a photograph of himself with the Cinema City building in the background and the caption “You have opened the gates of hell on yourselves.” Several days later, the concerned citizen was notified by the police of their decision to close the case because the evidence was insufficient for a criminal indictment.
Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher appealed the decision to the State Attorney’s office. In the appeal, he cited the great danger posed by the security guard: “Everybody living in the State of Israel in 2024 knows that the caption was taken from statements by terror organizations who repeatedly threaten Israeli citizens with terror attacks and other acts of violence. The photograph of the security guard on the background of a centrally located Israeli recreation site, with a blatantly explicit threat, constitutes a ‘ticking time bomb’, and is an act of deep solidarity with terror organizations. Less then one year ago, terror organizations burned babies in ovens, dismembered men, women, and children, raped and abused mothers in front of their small children, and afterward murdered them. What more must occur before every expression of support for terror and every explicit threat is given immediate and uncompromising treatment?”
In response to the appeal, the police notified Attorney Bleicher that they would reopen the investigative case. He then issued a statement: “We welcome the reopening of the case and expect the complaint and the removal of the threat to be handled with the seriousness it deserves.”